From all our orchid cacti, this one is my favourite. The flowers are small but prolific and they look very pretty even when still in bud form. The tiny buds will slowly develop into very attractive half opened buds, though they are still not fully developed. the soft pink colour make them look very beautiful to look at. Then after many weeks, the cute soft pink buds will eventually open into fully mature blooms.

Pretty flower buds:

Compared to the other orchids cacti, Nopalxochia  phyllanthoides have long lasting blooms. While many others with magnificently large blooms are short live, from 1 to 3 days, this smaller orchid cactus will have a prolific display of the prettiest blooms from the start in bud forms right into a fully open flowers, and this can take weeks to enjoy.

Nopalxochia phyllanthoides is native to Mexico and it is also known as Disocactus phillanthoides or Epiphyllum ‘Deutsche Kaiserin’ (E. German Empress)  and the common name is Pond Lily Cactus or Nopalillo in Spanish.

This is the description about the plant according to Wikipedia. How interesting to read the proper way in explaining plants, not that I understand though 🙂

Description (from Wikipedia)

Stems to 1 m long or more, branching, primary stems to 40 cm long, 6 mm thick, woody and terete at base, flattened at apex; secondary stems flat, lanceolate, acute, margins coarsely crenated or scalloped, obtusely toothed, with terete, stalk-like base, 15–30 cm long, 2,5–5 cm wide; areoles nude except for young growth; epidermis green or reddish, nearly smooth.

Flowers campanulate, funnel-shaped, diurnal and scentless*, 8–10 cm long, 7–9 cm wide, produced on year old branches; pericarpel ovate with a few spreading bracteoles; entire receptacle 2,5–5 cm long, 7–10 mm thick; bracteoles more numerous than on the pericarpel, reflexed, green to blackish purple, naked in their axills; outer tepals lanceolate, opening irregularly before flowering, then spreading widely, rose-pink; inner tepals lanceolate-obtuse, ± erect, pink, paler inside; stamens declinate, as long as the tepals, white; style as long as tepals, white, stigma lobes 5-7. Fruit ellipsoid, 3–4 cm with low ribs, green at first, later red. Seeds dark brown. J. Borg (Cacti, 1951) report it as “sweet-scented”. (Wikipedia: Disocactus phyllanthoides)

Note from me: Ours never bear any fruits and the flowers are not scented.